2026 Summer Youth Olympics

Games of the V Youth Olympiad
Host city	Dakar, Senegal
Motto	Future Of Africa, Future For The World (Avenir de l'Afrique, avenir pour le monde)
Athletes	~4564
Events	244 in 35 sports
Opening	31 October 2026
Closing	13 November 2026
Opened by	President Bassirou Diomaye Faye (expected)
Cauldron	TBA
Stadium	Diamniadio Olympic Stadium
	Summer ← Buenos Aires 2018; 2022 2030 → Winter ← Gangwon 2024 2028 →

The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics (French: Jeux Olympiques de la jeunesse d'été de 2026), officially known as the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Dakar 2026 (Wolof: Ndakaaru 2026), will be the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympics, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, in a city designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Originally scheduled to be held for 18 days in Dakar, Senegal, from 22 October to 9 November 2022, it is now scheduled to be held there for 13 days—from 31 October to 13 November 2026,^[1] becoming the first IOC event to be held in Africa.

On 9 December 2014 at the 127th IOC Session it was decided to move the organisation of the YOG to a non-Olympic year, starting with the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games, to be postponed from 2022 to 2023.^[2] Subsequently, the IOC reverted to a 2022 date, and announced in February 2018 that they would be recommending that the event be held in Africa.^[3] The 132nd IOC Session confirmed the change of date back to 2022 on 7 February 2018.^[4] The host was announced at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the 2018 edition.^[5] However, on 15 July 2020, the IOC and Senegalese government agreed to postpone the games to 2026 due to the operational and economical consequences of the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics to July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6]^[7]

^ "Dates for Dakar 2026 approved by IOC Executive Board". International Olympic Committee. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
^ "Olympic Agenda 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2015.
^ "IOC President Thomas Bach reports on the Youth Olympic Games 2022". International Olympic Committee. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018. the Executive Board wants these youth Olympic Games 2022 to take place in Africa. Therefore the EB decided today to propose to the session to make the african continent a strong priority ...
^ "132nd International Olympic Committee Session: Day two". insidethegames.biz. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
^ "It's time for Africa - see you in Senegal". International Olympic Committee. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
^ "Senegal and the IOC agree to postpone the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 to 2026". International Olympic Committee. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
^ "Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games postponed until 2026". www.insidethegames.biz. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

[1] "Dates for Dakar 2026 approved by IOC Executive Board". International Olympic Committee. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

[2] "Olympic Agenda 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2015.

[3] "IOC President Thomas Bach reports on the Youth Olympic Games 2022". International Olympic Committee. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018. the Executive Board wants these youth Olympic Games 2022 to take place in Africa. Therefore the EB decided today to propose to the session to make the african continent a strong priority ...

[4] "132nd International Olympic Committee Session: Day two". insidethegames.biz. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.

[5] "It's time for Africa - see you in Senegal". International Olympic Committee. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2021.

[2022noyouthgames-6] "Senegal and the IOC agree to postpone the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 to 2026". International Olympic Committee. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

[7] "Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games postponed until 2026". www.insidethegames.biz. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]